Policy Profile: San Francisco, CA Sugary Drink Tax

While each community is unique, here are some lessons learned from San Francisco:

Groundwork was laid by an unsuccessful tax campaign in 2014, signature gathering for the 2016 ballot measure, and ongoing community education by the health department.

The 2016 coalition made a place at the table for communities of color and emphasized recruiting and training new leaders and campaign volunteers.

Leadership from two women of color, Supervisor Malia Cohen and Campaign Manager Monica Chinchilla, were important leaders, and helped bring communities and voters on board.

Political expertise and organizers: Lead political consultant, Larry Tramutola, had experience in the 2014 Berkeley tax victory. Voter outreach plan included paid, trained organizers taking lead in voter dense districts.

The experience and research from Mexico and Berkeley helped to counter Big Soda arguments.